


If He be Worthy

by DeathByStorm



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Gen, Gen Work, I am still very salty about season 8, Is This its own Genre Yet?, Mission Fic, everyone gets the chance to lift thor's hammer, which I can't link because I lost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 06:57:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18115619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathByStorm/pseuds/DeathByStorm
Summary: It couldn’t end like this. The universe’s only hope failing because they’d fallen for this trap like a bunch of fools. His team was in danger, and Shiro felt more helpless than he had since he was in the ring.  He gave the hammer one last desperate tug.Or in which the Galra set a trap and the team meets a man from another dimension.





	If He be Worthy

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you to the lovely [Eilera](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eilera/pseuds/Eilera) for betaing.
> 
> I have wanted to write this fic for quite a while and it is my hope that I did this idea justice. Shiro and Allura deserved better.
> 
> They all did.

“We would be grateful for any assistance that you can provide us,”

“We will be there shortly, Chancellor Miren,” Allura said. “We look forward to meeting you in person.”

“And I you. May the sun shine on your grains.”

“And yours as well,” Allura said.

She and the Chancellor bowed to each other and the feed winked out. She turned to Shiro and the rest of the paladins with a smile.

“Alright everyone, to your lions,” Allura said. “We don’t want to keep the Illidadians waiting too long.”

“You heard the princess,” Shiro said.

“Oh, I hope that we can pick up some food while we’re down here,” Hunk said.

Lance groaned as he got out of his chair. “I hope so. The whole food goo thing is getting a little old.”

“That’s an understatement,” Pidge murmured.

*

“Welcome, Princess Allura of Altea and the paladins of Voltron,” Miren said. “Welcome to the planet Ilidade.”

Surrounding him was what Shiro could only assume was his entourage, which included other Illidadians in less flashy robes than Miren, and also what appeared to be a band of musicians.

“Man, we’re like her back up dancers,” Lance whispered.

Shiro elbowed him in the side and Lance shot him a betrayed look.

“We are honoured to be received to your presence,” Allura replied ignoring the scuffle behind her.

“The honour is all mine. Please, before we get down to business, allow me to show you to our temple to present you to the goddess Hargen for approval.”

“Of course,” Allura said. “Lead the way.”

The architecture of the temple had been done all in curves and smooth lines, with elegant buttresses encircling the building, giving it an air of grace. Shiro figured that it had to be about five storeys high.  There was an Illidadian stationed at each side of the entrance and they bowed to the group as they approached.

“We will require that you remove your weapons before entering the temple,” Miren said. “Our deity, Hargen is one of peace and abhors the mechanisms of war.”

“I remember your customs well,” Allura said. Her next words had an air of ritual. “We carry no mechanisms of war on this day.”

She jerked her head towards the others, and one by one, they all placed their bayards on an alcove that had clearly been created for that purpose.

“Your weapons will be safe until you leave,” Merin said. “After you.”  

It was far cooler inside the temple than in the hot desert sun. Shiro immediately craned his head, looking for any exits. The whole place was circular, and it was clear that the only exit was the entrance they had just come in. The high, vaulted ceilings were made of clear glass, allowing the light from the suns outside to shine down to the ground. There were a few Illidadians kneeling at the pews, their eyes closed in prayer. Along the walls were floor to ceiling carvings, showing the story of their God, terminating a few storeys above.

“To the alter,” Merin said.

In the center of the room, a hammer sat on a pedestal. A shaft of light cut in through the cracked walls, making it almost glow in the din. Shiro’s hand twitched. It reminded him of the tales of the sword in the stone, and Arthur and his knights and perhaps that was why he felt an immediate draw to it.

The doors of the temple slammed shut with a heavy bang. At the same time, something thudded into Shiro’s Galra arm and he stumbled a little as it became a dead weight.

The image flickered, and everything faded out like a bad photograph.

The room was covered in dust. Despite the sanctity of the place, it was clear that it was a relic from a bygone era or in this case a bygone species. Parts of the roof had fallen in and the pews had long since begun to rot. A body was sprawled across the pew nearest to Shiro, desiccated by the ravages of time. One of its hands frozen upwards reaching for a supplication that had never been received.

This was a trap.

“What is the meaning of this?” Allura turned.

“Wait a minute!” Hunk stumbled back, his head jerking around as he took in his surroundings. “You can’t do this!”

“I do not believe there is any honour in deception,” Merin said. “But the lady Haggar insisted this was the best way.”

Merin’s appearance rippled, and moment later a Galra general stood in Miren’s stead with a sword at his hip. As one, the rest of his delegation disappeared as if they were smoke and were revealed to be sentries.

Merin gestured to the sentries behind him. “On my mark.”

The robots raised their rifles.

Shiro exchanged a look with Allura, who seemed more angry than afraid. Her hands were curled into fists, and he could swear that she was a few inches taller. Beside him, Keith raised his fists.

“Wait!” she said. Her usual clear voice trembled as she almost growled. “We surrender.”

“And the Galra empire appreciates your surrender, princess Allura of Altea,” Merin said. “Unfortunately, the lady Haggar’s orders were quite clear. Fire.”

The paladins threw themselves behind an altar near the back of the room as laser fire filled the air. Shiro ducked behind the pedestal holding the hammer with Keith and they leaned against it as bits of the limestone was chipped away. He could hear the footsteps of the sentries over the din of laserfire.

Keith reached up and grabbed the hammer and pulled.

“Careful, Keith,” Shiro said.

“It won’t budge.” He collapsed down beside Shiro. “What are we gonna do?”

The room was circular. There was a way to make sure that at least some of them got out of here, wasn’t there? Shiro gritted his teeth. The guards that had been at the temple doors had to be backup for the Galra in the temple with them in case any of them made it out.

“Keith, you and the others are going to have to split into two groups and rush for the exit. I’ll draw their attention.”

“Shiro, no!”

“There isn’t any time for arguing, Keith.” Shiro said.

“I won’t leave you,” Keith’s voice trembled. “Not again.”  

The air around the hammer was humming and something about it partially drowned out the sound of laserfire.

“I’m not really giving you an option,” Shiro said. Even his voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

The feeling intensified and made Shiro’s hair felt like it was standing on end. There was a pressure, similar but not quite the same Black. He reached for it, making sure that as much of him remained behind the pillar as possible. The Galran sentries shot like stormtroopers, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He made sure to compensate for the dead weight of his Galra arm as he wrapped his fingers around the handle and pulled. The hammer shifted a little, but otherwise did not move from the table.

It couldn’t end like this. The universe’s only hope failing because they’d fallen for this trap like a bunch of fools. His team was in danger, and Shiro felt more helpless than he had since he was in the ring.  He gave the hammer one last desperate tug, and just like that, it was light enough to pick up. It sang, echoing the relief he felt as he raised it in the air.

Jolts of electricity arced forward as Shiro swung the hammer down and hit the floor. It buckled up and writhed like a dying thing, the stone that had been so carefully set down by a long dead civilization, crumbling and knocking the sentries to the floor. Dimly, he could hear shocked shouts from the rest of the paladins and Allura, and- oh no. If that had hurt any of the team, he didn’t know if he could forgive himself.

Merin fell to his knees, a hole smoking in his chest from a stray shot. His mouth opened as he struggled to say something, but he died before it could be expressed, the light fading from his eyes as he crumpled to the floor. Heedless of their falling leader, the sentries continued to fire as they advanced.

“Is everyone okay?” Shiro shouted.

“My leg is trapped,” Pidge’s voice came over the din.

Hunk began to slowly inch over to where Pidge was.

“Shiro,” Keith’s voice came from a corner.

“Keith, I told you that we don’t have time to argue,” Shiro said.

“No,” Keith said frustratedly. “We don’t.”

Some of the sentries turned to Keith directly and fired as he rolled out from behind one of the pews and slashed the first bot he came into contact with. As other bots continued firing on him, Shiro saw his chance. He leapt towards another couple of bots.

Shiro swung the hammer in one beautiful uppercut into the nearest sentry. Back when Shiro was a kid, his teacher had demonstrated how different vibrations could affect a pop can under the stress of a child standing on top of it. He'd stood on top of the can and marveled at how it was able to hold his weight. Until the teacher had tapped one side gently with a pen and the whole thing had collapsed.

It was a bit like that with the sentries. They crumpled on contact with the hammer, much like that tin can had. Electricity arced from the hammer as Shiro swung it again.

Thunder rolled outside, loud enough to swallow up the sounds of battle. Shiro paid it little heed, far more interested in participating in the fight in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro saw the doors blow open. They hit the wall with a bang.

A man -a _human_ strode through the entranceway. Clad in gleaming armour with a red cape and bulging muscles, he looked like a cosplayer that had gotten lost on the way to a convention. Shiro only had a moment to try to calculate if he was friend or foe before the stranger reached out and the hammer was torn from his grip.

It tore through a couple of the remaining sentries and thudded into the man’s hand with a meaty ‘smack.’ He immediately swung the hammer at the floor. Unlike when Shiro had done it moments ago, the effect was both more powerful and more localized. The floor underneath the sentries buckled up, crumpling like a dry pastry. This time, electricity bounced from crack to crack and the sentries sparked and collapsed where they stood.

“Come, this place is about to collapse,” the man said.

He turned and walked outside without another word, clearly someone who was used to being followed.

Shiro took a quick glimpse at the mess he and the stranger had wrought. True to his word, their fight had caused new cracks to form in the crumbling structure. A couple of chunks of brick fell from the ceiling

“Is anyone else injured?” Shiro said quietly as they headed towards the door.

“Just me, I think,” Pidge said.

“Lance, Allura are you okay?”

They both answered affirmatively

A few more chunks of mortar thudded to the ground. “We’ll take that as our cue to go.”

Beside the door were the bodies of the two guards which the stranger had clearly dispatched before entering the temple. The sky had darkened noticeably in the short time that they’d been in there and angry clouds were gathering overhead. They briefly paused to retrieve their bayards from the alcove at the edge of the crumbling building. Shiro took a deep breath to help settle some of the adrenaline that was still singing through his body. Across the courtyard, the stranger stood there waiting for them.

Allura walked up to the man and extended her hand courteously. “I am princess Allura of Altea and these are the paladins of Voltron. Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk. I would like to thank you for coming to our rescue.”

“You are most welcome. I am Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard,” And to Shiro’s surprise, he took Allura’s outstretched hand and bowed over it like something out of a medieval fantasy.

“Tell me. What matter of being are your paladins that one of them was able to wield Mjolnir?” He must have seen the hesitation on Shiro’s face because he said, “Peace, stranger. I mean you and yours no harm.”

Allura beckoned Shiro forward. “This is Shiro. He and all of the other paladins are human.”

The man looked visibly surprised before shaking it off. “This is most unusual.”

“Wait, like the god Thor?” Lance said.

“Indeed, blue one. Your people have many legends about me.”

“It's a curious thing,” Thor said. He turned the hammer over in his hands. “You know what this inscription says?”

Shiro looked down at the hammer. “You could say that my Norse is a bit rusty.”

Thor ran his fingers along the inscription.

“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”

“And that means-”

“In order to be able to lift Mjolnir, you must be pure of heart, courageous and put the needs of others before your own,” Thor said. “In other words, you must be a hero.”

Shiro couldn’t help but wonder if this guy was full of shit. He’d been many things throughout his life from an explorer to a gladiator to a paladin. But he wasn’t a hero. Hell, he wasn’t sure he would ever deserve to be a paladin. His memories of the arena, fragmented as they were, were a yoke around his neck that dragged him down when he least expected it. At the heart of things, he’d been unbearably tainted by what he’d had to do there.

“It’s funny,” Thor was saying. “You’re the first mortal I've met who can lift Mjolnir. You must have a mighty heart indeed, Shiro of Earth, to have been able to wield this weapon.”

Ha, fat chance. Shiro wasn’t mighty. The hammer was just broken.

His disbelief must have shown on his face, because Thor clapped him on the shoulder. “I see you have doubts. Mjolnir deemed you worthy. Many people, great men have thought themselves able to lift the hammer, but few have succeeded. Here, let me show you. You there, do you feel worthy of the power of Thor?”

“Me?” Hunk pointed at himself.

“Yes you, Hunk, was it?”

“Yeah that’s me.”

“How would you like to lift the hammer of the might Thor?”

“You know what? Nope, not in the cards for me today, thanks. I saw what that hammer could do, man,” Hunk said. “Besides, Pidge is on my back so –”

“Oh me!” Lance said.

“Me too!”

“Pidge, no you’re hurt!” Hunk said.

“Pidge maybe you should sit this one out,” Shiro said.

She ignored them both and squirmed until Hunk set her down. Shiro shook his head. Sometimes he wondered why he even tried. Hunk at least was kind enough to allow her to use him as a support as she hobbled up to the hammer.

Bemused, Thor stepped away. “Go ahead, small one.”

“I’ll show you how it’s done, Lance,” she said.

She wrapped her free hand around the handle and pulled. Her eyes widened when it stuck fast to the ground. She tugged again for good measure, leaning all her weight against it.

“What is that thing made of?” She gave it one last half-hearted yank.

“It’s made from the heart of a dying star.” Thor said.

Pidge pushed her glasses up in on her nose and they glinted in the dying light. “I don’t suppose that you would allow me to run some tests on this?”

Thor shook his head. “I’m afraid I must depart soon. My people have need of myself and of Mjolnir.”

“Speaking of that,” Pidge said. “How did something like this end up here?”

At that, Thor scratched the back of his head and looked vaguely sheepish. “I’m afraid I dropped it during a recent battle, and it fell through a dimensional rift.”

Pidge glanced around at the ruins. “I guess time must move faster here.”

“It’s common between realities.”

“Enough of your nerd talk. I’m next!” Lance said. “Move aside, Pidge. Let me show you how it’s done.”

“This I’ve got to see,” Keith said.

“Yeah, you will see it.”

“Ooh. Nice comeback.”

“I’ll show you a nice comeback!”

Lance grabbed the hammer and heaved. He stepped back and did a few stretches before trying again. 

“What is this thing like glued to the ground?”

“No, blue Paladin, it seems like you do not have what is required to lift it.”

Lance’s shoulders slumped. Shiro made a mental note to compliment him on his sharpshooting the next time an opportunity arose.

“Oh. I see.”

“But you shouldn’t let that discourage you. As I mentioned before, few people have the power to lift it,” Thor said. He clapped his hand on Lance’s shoulder, and his knees nearly buckled under the impact. “Anyone else? How about you? Keith, was it?”

“I already tried. I can’t lift it.”

“You, Princess Allura of Altea?”

“I already know that I won’t be able to lift it.”  

“Come on, Allura,” Lance said. “You should at least try.”

“Come on, Allura!” Pidge said. “You’re the only one who hasn’t tried yet.”

“Fine. Since you all insist.”

Allura walked up to the hammer and reached for the handle, before pulling back. “I can feel the power emanating from this – Mjolnir was it?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Well, here goes nothing I guess.”

The hammer came away from the ground easily and Allura turned it over in her hand wonderingly. “It’s so light!”

This time Thor was significantly less quick hiding the shock on his face.

“This is indeed surprising,” he said at length. “To think that two of you would have the heart to lift Mjolnir. This does not disprove my point, Shiro.”

Technically it didn’t, but Thor had also not managed to prove his point.

“Shiro, I can feel the spellwork on this,” Allura said quietly. She was still turning the hammer over in her hands, marvelling. “The engravings remind me of some of the projects that my father was working on just before the war. And the way that it chooses its wielders is similar, but more specific than the lions. There may be some truth to what he says.”

She gave it one last twirl and it sang softly as she handed it back to Thor.

“Thank you, Thor. This reassures me that we’re on the right path.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Thor said. “You are indeed a mighty collection of warriors. Tell me, what manner battle do you face?”

“The Galra. They slaughtered my people, the Illidadians whose home planet we stand on and countless others,” Allura said. “We seek to rid the universe of their empire so that everyone can be free again.”

“Your quest is a noble one. Not too long ago, I would have been happy to aid you,” Thor said. “But we face our own grave danger back in my universe. It was an honour to meet you all. I wish you luck in your upcoming battle, Princess Allura of Altea and paladins of Voltron. Farewell.”

“And you yours, Thor,” Allura said. “Farewell.”

The god gave her a gracious nod. “Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!”

With a brilliant flash of light, Thor was gone, leaving only the scent of scorched earth and ozone.

“You guys go ahead,” Shiro said as he watched Allura head toward the ruins. “I’ll catch up in a minute.”  

He headed towards the ruins

“Here,” Allura said when she saw him approach her. “Let me get that device off of you.”

“Sure, that would be appreciated.”

Shiro extended his arm and Allura wrapped her slim fingers around each side of the clamp. With a mighty wrench, she tore off the clamp and its ruined pieces hit the ground in two distinct thuds. His prosthetic felt lighter as the functionality was restored. It whirred gently as he curled it into a fist to test its mobility.

“I’m sorry, Shiro. My blind trust almost got us all killed.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Princess. The Galra don’t usually use this tactic.”

“How much more must the Galra take?” Allura said tracing her hand along a crumbling wall. “I remember the Illidadians well. They were a peaceful, prosperous people. As a child, I would often accompany my father when he would visit this place. To think that they would come to this.”

She curled her hand in a fist and hit the wall. The old mortar cracked a little under the force of the strike.

“I understand how upsetting this must be for you,” Shiro said. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. “But this why we fight. To stop the Galra and to save innocent people.”

“It never gets any easier to see this.”

“I’d be worried if it did.”

“I suppose you’re right.” She gave him a sad smile and took one last look around the ruins as if committing them to memory.

They stood there in silence for a few moments before Allura looked back up at him.

“You are worthy, Shiro,” Allura said.

“Sorry?”

“And I’m not talking about Mjolnir,” she said. “You’re worthy of both the Black Lion and the team you lead. I have faith that one day you’ll see yourself as we see you. As a good man who has faced horrible circumstances and come out of them with his kindness and compassion intact.”

“Allura…” he trailed off not exactly sure what he was going to say. 

“I think I’m ready to head back now.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come scream about Voltron with me on [Tumblr](https://www.deathbystorm.tumblr.com)


End file.
